Endre Antal Miksa de Toth, known as Andre de Toth (; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in

Makó Makó (, , Makowe, or , ) is a town in Csongrád County, in southeastern Hungary, from the Romanian border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 21,913 people and it has an area of , of which is arable land. Makó is the fourth-larges ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. He directed the

3D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema and later experienced a worldwide r ...

''House of Wax'' (1953), despite being unable to see in 3D himself, having lost an eye at an early age. Upon naturalization as a United States citizen in 1945, he took "Endre Antal Miksa de Toth" as his legal name.

Early life

Born in 1913 as Sasvári farkasfalvi tóthfalusi Tóth Endre Antal Mihály, de Toth earned a degree in law from the Royal Hungarian Pázmány Péter Science's University in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in the early 1930s. He garnered acclaim for plays written as a college student, acquiring the mentorship of

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; January 12, 1878April 1, 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarians, Hungarian-born author, stage director, dramatist, and poet. He is widely regarded as Hungary's most celebrated and c ...

and becoming part of the theater scene in

Career

De Toth moved on from there to the film industry and worked as a writer, assistant director, editor and sometime actor. In 1939, just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he directed five films, beginning in Europe. Several of these films received significant release in the Hungarian communities in the United States. Toth went to England, where he spent several years as an assistant to fellow Hungarian émigré

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

, and eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1942. Based on his Hungarian films, the production work for Korda and writing he had done on American projects during earlier stints in Los Angeles, de Toth received an oral contract as a director at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

from which he ultimately extricated himself by litigation. He preferred working as an independent and had no "A" budgets early in his career. Thus, he had to supplement his directing income with writing assignments, often uncredited. Introduced to Westerns by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

, he worked mostly in that genre throughout the 1950s, often bringing elements of noir style into those films. In 1951, de Toth received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing (with co-writer William Bowers) for the story filmed as '' The Gunfighter''. While largely remembered as the director of the earliest and most successful 3D film, '' House of Wax'', de Toth also directed the noir films '' Pitfall'' (1948) and '' Crime Wave'' (1954).Bergan, Ronald (October 31, 2002).
André de Toth
. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 2020-04-09. He later returned to the European film industry, mainly with Italian productions, and also directed the war action film '' Play Dirty'' starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

and

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

. In 1996, he published his memoir, ''Fragments – Portraits from the Inside'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1994; ).

Personal life

De Toth lost the sight in one eye and wore a black eyepatch; as a 1994 report in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted, this led to an almost deadly incident: During his seven marriages, de Toth became father and stepfather of 19 children, including editor Nicolas de Toth. He was married to Veronica Lake from 1944 until their divorce in 1952. They had a son, Andre Anthony Michael de Toth III (born 1945) and a daughter, Diana DeToth (born 1948). In 1953 he married the actress Mary Lou Holloway (née Stratton). At the time of his death in 2002, de Toth was married to his seventh wife, Ann Green. On October 27, 2002, de Toth died from an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

, aged 89. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.

Partial filmography

* '' Wedding in Toprin'' (1939) * '' The Five-Forty'' (1939) * '' Two Girls on the Street'' (1939) * '' Six Weeks of Happiness'' (1939) * ''

Semmelweis Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (; ; 1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist of German descent who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures and was described as the "saviour of mothers". Postpartum infections, ...

'' (1940) * ''

Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' (1942) (second unit director only) * ''

Passport to Suez ''Passport to Suez'' (1943; also known as ''A Night of Adventure'' and ''The Clock Strikes Twelve'') is the 20th film featuring the Lone Wolf (fictional detective), Lone Wolf character. It was the eleventh of fifteen in the Columbia Pictures seri ...

'' (1943) * '' None Shall Escape'' (1944) * '' Dark Waters'' (1944) * ''

Ramrod A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloader, muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was u ...

'' (1947) * '' The Other Love'' (1947) * '' Pitfall'' (1948) * '' Slattery's Hurricane'' (1949) * '' Man in the Saddle'' (1951) * ''

Carson City Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...

'' (1952) * '' Springfield Rifle'' (1952) * '' Last of the Comanches'' (1953) * '' House of Wax'' (1953) * ''

The Stranger Wore a Gun ''The Stranger Wore a Gun'' is a 1953 American Western film directed by Andre de Toth and starring Randolph Scott and Claire Trevor. Based on the short story "Yankee Gold" by John W. Cunningham, the film is about a war criminal wanted for the ...

'' (1953) * '' Thunder Over the Plains'' (1953) * '' Crime Wave'' (1954) * '' Tanganyika'' (1954) * ''

Riding Shotgun "Riding shotgun" was a phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refers to ...

'' (1954) * '' The Bounty Hunter'' (1954) * '' The Indian Fighter'' (1955) * '' Hidden Fear'' (1957) * '' Monkey on My Back'' (1957) * '' The Two-Headed Spy'' (1958) * '' Day of the Outlaw'' (1959) * '' Man on a String'' (1960) * '' Morgan, the Pirate'' (Italian title: ''Morgan il pirata'') (1960) * '' The Mongols'' (Italian title: ''I mongoli'') (1961) * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) (second unit director only - uncredited) * '' Gold for the Caesars'' (Italian title: ''Oro per i Cesari'') (1963) * '' Play Dirty'' (1968) * ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' (1978) (second unit director only - uncredited)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Andre De 1913 births 2002 deaths Film directors from California Hungarian film directors Western (genre) film directors 20th-century American memoirists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from aneurysm English-language film directors Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian nobility Royalty and nobility with disabilities Hungarian horror film directors Hungarian people with disabilities American artists with disabilities Film directors with disabilities Eyepatch wearers